Hi folks.  This week, Ann Althouse over at ALTHOUSE (http://althouse.blogspot.com/) put me in a rare good mood with her bout of Greenwald bashing titled “I cursed my fate because I had no shoes, and then I met a man who had no feet.” Superb!  Her surgical dissection of Greenwald’s writing is interesting reading and will give you some nice insights on blogging.

To move forward, I have found something that will interest everybody in practice.  The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals now has a wiki!  And it contains a practitioner’s handbook too!  Guided by Judge Frank Easterbrook, the wiki will lead counsel through the appellate process and also provide access to opinions, rules, and information of Seventh Circuit cases and procedure.  Check out the May 11 post at “V.U. LAWCITY – THE VALPO LAW BLAWG.  (http://www.valpolawlibrary.blogspot.com/)  I ardently wish that other circuits, too, would pick up the healthy trend.

Moreover, this week, the U.S. government has issued an executive order that will stop the hiring of contingent-fee attorneys by U.S. Government agencies.  I came to learn about that at Overlawyered.  (http://overlawyered.com/ )  Seems the government wants no more to give the money of the poor to the deserving (the contingent-fee lawyers).  That is quite against the hallowed traditions of spending government money.  The Institute for Legal Reform seems to be encouraging the states to follow this hideous trend and join in the campaign to impoverish attorneys.  (I don’t know why, but it seems that failed lawyers jealous of practicing attorneys have assumed power on earth).